Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018 Filed 09/17/15 Page 1 of 2 IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE ) In re: ) Chapter 11 ) Allied Nevada Gold Corp., et al.,1 ) Case No. 15-10503 (MFW) ) Debtors. ) Jointly Administered ) ) Related Docket Nos.: 819, 970, 995 NOTICE OF FILING OF EXHIBIT PLEASE TAKE NOTICE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1. On August 10, 2015, Brian Tuttle (“Tuttle”) filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Court”) a Motion to Appoint an Examiner with Access to and Authority to Disclose Privileged Materials [Docket No. 819] (the “Motion”). 2. On September 2, 2015, Tuttle filed with the Court a brief in support of the Motion [Docket No. 970] (the “Brief”). Attached as Exhibit “3” to the Brief are certain pages of a December 2014 report prepared by Scotiabank GBM entitled Focus 2015 - Divergence and Discrimination (the “Report”). 3. On September 11, 2015, a hearing (the “Hearing”) was held before the Court in connection with the Motion. As set forth on the record at the Hearing, the parties, including the above-captioned debtors and debtors in possession (the “Debtors”) and Tuttle, and the Court, 1 The Debtors in these cases, along with the last four digits of each Debtor’s federal tax identification number, are: Allied Nevada Gold Corp. (7115); Allied Nevada Gold Holdings LLC (7115); Allied VGH Inc. (3601); Allied VNC Inc. (3291); ANG Central LLC (7115); ANG Cortez LLC (7115); ANG Eureka LLC (7115); ANG North LLC (7115); ANG Northeast LLC (7115); ANG Pony LLC (7115); Hasbrouck Production Company LLC (3601); Hycroft Resources & Development, Inc. (1989); Victory Exploration Inc. (8144); and Victory Gold Inc. (8139). The corporate headquarters for each of the above Debtors are located at, and the mailing address for each of the above Debtors, except Hycroft Resources & Development, Inc., is 9790 Gateway Drive, Suite 200, Reno, NV 89521. The mailing address for Hycroft Resources & Development, Inc. is P.O. Box 3030, Winnemucca, NV 89446. 145200.01601/101435772v.1 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018 Filed 09/17/15 Page 2 of 2 agreed that a copy of the entire Report could be entered into evidence in connection with the Hearing; however, a hard copy of the Report was not immediately available for submission to the Court at the Hearing. Consequently, the Court instructed the parties to submit a copy of the Report subsequent to the conclusion of the Hearing. 4. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of the Report. 5. Notwithstanding the filing of the Report by this notice, on September 15, 2015, the Court entered an order denying the Motion, consistent with the Court’s ruling at the Hearing. See Docket No. 995. Wilmington, Delaware BLANK ROME LLP Date: September 17, 2015 By: /s/ Stanley B. Tarr Stanley B. Tarr (No. 5535) Michael D. DeBaecke (No. 3186) Victoria A. Guilfoyle (No. 5183) 1201 N. Market Street, Suite 800 Wilmington, Delaware 19801 Telephone: (302) 425-6400 Facsimile: (302) 425-6464 -and- AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP Ira S. Dizengoff (admitted pro hac vice) Philip C. Dublin (admitted pro hac vice) Alexis Freeman (admitted pro hac vice) One Bryant Park New York, New York 10036 Telephone: (212) 872-1000 Facsimile: (212) 872-1002 Co-Counsel to the Debtors and Debtors in Possession -2- 145200.01601/101435772v.1 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 1 of 299 EXHIBIT A Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 2 of 299 Equity Research Industry Report December 2014 Focus 2015 Divergence and Discrimination For Reg AC Certification and important disclosures see Appendix A of this report. Analysts employed by non-U.S. affiliates are not registered/qualified as research analysts with FINRA in the U.S. Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 3 of 299 Focus 2015 December 2014 Contents Director’s Comment Divergence and Discrimination 5 Portfolio & Quantitative Strategy: Divergence and Discrimination 2014 Performance Recap 7 Small Cap Strategy Think Small for 2015 21 Economic & Market Outlook Major 2015 Themes Getting Minor Attention 31 Latin America Economic & Market Outlook The Year Ahead in Latin America 37 Sector Comments Banks, Americas A Soft but Optimistic Year Ahead 41 Canadian Financial Services Slowing, but Steady – Prefer Lifecos to Banks 47 Diversified Financials & Insurance Sector Attributes Likely to Be Increasingly Sought Out by Investors 63 Diversified Industrials Autos & Components 71 Energy Infrastructure Taking the “Energy” out of Infrastructure 77 Forest Products & Diversified Industries Build It... and They Will (Finally!) Leave 83 Global Fertilizers & Agriculture The New Grain Price Reality 89 Gold & Precious Minerals More of the Same 99 LatAm Airports Rich Valuations, but Still an Attractive Story 121 1 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 4 of 299 Focus 2015 December 2014 LatAm Cement CX Is the Best Positioned for 2015 127 LatAm Construction & Infrastructure Value Drivers for 2015 133 LatAm Consumer Products A Brighter Outlook: Increasing Exposure Wisely 139 LatAm Metals & Mining Southern Copper Poised to Reap the Benefits of a Tight Market 145 LatAm Telecom, Media & Technology Calmer Seas Ahead in 2015 147 LatAm Utilities Expansion Plans and Hydrology Should Rule 153 Media Digital Takes the Lead 157 Metals & Mining Growth Finally Arriving; Risk Profiles Declining 161 Oil & Gas Canadian E&P – Themes for 2015 167 Canadian E&P – Top Ideas for 2015 172 International E&P – Themes for 2015 175 E&P – Sensitivities to Oil Prices 177 Oilfield Services 181 Real Estate & REITs Solid Returns Expected in 2015 193 Retailing & Consumer Products Keeping Up with Change and the Consumer in 2015 211 Software & Services Strengthening Demand 223 Specialized Finance Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold; 2015 May Be Just Right 229 Special Situations Real Estate Still a Bright Spot in 2015 235 2 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 5 of 299 Focus 2015 December 2014 Technology Hardware Emerging Markets Expected to Keep LTE Spend Going 241 Telecommunications & Cable Focus 2015 – United States and Canada 249 Transportation & Aerospace Look for Trading Opportunities in 2015 259 Appendix 1 – China Outlook Published by CNC Asset Management Ltd., exclusively distributed by Scotia Capital Inc. New Norm, Inclining Plateau, and Two-Stage Realignment i Publication date December 15, 2014. Pricing as at November 28, 2014, unless otherwise stated. Currencies in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Cover photo credit: Scotiabank GBM. 3 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 6 of 299 Focus 2015 December 2014 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK. 4 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 7 of 299 Focus 2015 December 2014 Director’s Comment Divergence and Discrimination It is my pleasure to introduce Focus 2015, Scotiabank GBM’s annual investment outlook for the coming year. In this report, we highlight industry outlooks, themes, and stock recommendations outlining our analysts’ highest conviction ideas for the year ahead. Keep updated on changes to our stock recommendations by accessing our research portal, ScotiaView. This report begins with our portfolio strategy outlook prepared by Vincent Delisle, while Hugo Ste-Marie offers his perspective on implications for small cap strategy. Our Canadian, U.S., and global economic outlook is summarized by Frances Donald, while Pablo Bréard offers his perspectives on Latin America. Collectively, they outline reasons for near-term bullishness for stock markets and the economy in our sudden low oil-price environment. Na Liu summarizes expected impacts of developments in China, primarily on commodity markets (shown in Appendix 1). Our analysts present a brief overview of key themes expected to drive performance in their respective sectors, as well as their top stock recommendations for the year. We caution readers that this report contains summary commentaries only. Investors are encouraged to contact their Scotiabank salesperson or our analysts for a more complete review of our research views and recommendations. Our published research is available on our website, ScotiaView. Thank you for your interest in this publication. We wish you happy holidays in the weeks ahead and a successful year of investing in 2015. John Henderson, MBA, P.Eng. – (416) 945-7393 (Scotia Capital Inc. – Canada) [email protected] 5 Case 15-10503-MFW Doc 1018-1 Filed 09/17/15 Page 8 of 299 Focus 2015 December 2014 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK. 6